Lycoming College to host "Alternatives to Drug Prohibition"

March 20, 2012

Veteran law enforcement official Howard Wooldridge will present "Alternatives to Drug Prohibition" on Thursday, March 22, at 7 p.m. in Lycoming College's Heim Building G-09. The presentation is sponsored by Lycoming's departments of criminal justice and criminology, philosophy, political science and psychology.

Wooldridge served 18 years on the police force in Bath Township, Mich., and retired as a detective in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he became a bilingual speaker promoting an end to the war on drugs at Texas Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.

In 2002, he and four colleagues founded Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), where he served on the board of directors from 2002-07 and represented LEAP in Washington, D.C., from 2005-09.

In 2003, Wooldridge rode horseback from Georgia to Oregon to educate Americans on the failure of modern prohibition. In 2005, he became the first person in the 21st century to ride a horse coast to coast in both directions when he journeyed from Los Angeles to New York City advocating a public health approach to drugs. Due to his efforts, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.

Founded in 1812 and celebrating its bicentennial during the 2011-12 academic year, Lycoming College is a national liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. It offers 35 academic majors and is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News & World Report. Located near the banks of the Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation.